Problem

Creating information dashboards is always a challenge for end users, especially when we need to pull data from various sources.
The PerformancePoint Service (PPS) is a Microsoft BI technology for displaying information dashboards
within a SharePoint platform. PPS was not part of MOSS 2007. But with
SharePoint 2010, Microsoft has added PPS as a service within the Enterprise
version of SharePoint 2010. The Dashboard Designer provides a rich authoring environment for creating and
managing dashboard content.

Solution

The Dashboard Designer is the Microsoft answer for integrated BI reporting
within SharePoint 2010. In this article we will see how to start creating basic reports
using the Dashboard Designer. I will walk you through displaying Excel charts using PerformancePoint webparts.

1. To create dashboards and reports we need a BI Center site collection. If it is not present in the SharePoint farm, create a new site
collection using the "Business Intelligence Center" template.

The BI Center has the following built-in libraries and lists:

2. Dashboard Designer can be opened from Start --> Programs --> SharePoint or from the Performance Content library in the BI Center site collection
by clicking "Add new Item". It is recommended that you use Internet Explorer to launch Dashboard Designer for the first time and then
afterwards, you can launch
Dashboard Designer by using the Start menu (Click Start --> All Programs --> SharePoint
--> PerformancePoint Dashboard Designer)

3. This opens the Dashboard Designer which installs on a client computer by using ClickOnce, a Web-based deployment technology.